What does it mean to be “blessed”? If we’re honest, most people imagine that being “blessed” means something “good” has happened and you are feeling “blessed!” So being “blessed,” to most people, is being happy! The problem with that definition is that it leaves you thinking you are NOT “blessed” when you’re NOT happy, when things don’t seem to be going the way you would like them to go (which happens more often than we may want to admit). Far too often people treat God like a lucky rabbit’s foot, or like a genie in a bottle! They want God to “bless” them by granting their “wish,” to give them everything this world has to offer. After all, our Father in heaven wants His children to be happy. Right??? Not exactly!! From the beginning, Jesus taught His disciples a radically different way of looking at life in this world. He spoke about the “kingdom of God,” in contrast to the “kingdom of the world.” While those who are living in the kingdom of this world set their minds on the “happiness” this world offers, Jesus called His disciples to consider that those who are part of the kingdom of GOD live with a different set of goals. We who are part of His kingdom understand that life in THIS world is not all there is! God’s “blessing” looks different than most people imagine!! Life lived WITH God and FOR God takes on new meaning and purpose, because God has opened our eyes to see the reality that everything in THIS world will pass away, but His kingdom will last forever! It is, therefore, in living as citizens of God’s kingdom NOW, as we live in this world, that we can know that we ARE blessed because we have in Jesus Christ an eternal inheritance that is beyond anything this world can offer. It is this radical way of looking at life that sets Jesus’ disciples free to live a “blessed life,” shining the light of His truth and His glory into the darkness of the world as we live for the glory of our Father in heaven!